Back To The Garden: 50 Greatest Moments

Anytime I am walking by Madison Square Garden, I wonder: what if I could pick another time to walk past the famous venue? Would it be -

1969, just as the Rolling Stones took stage for the first time in NYC? Well, that would be Moment # 26.

Wait, give me 1962. There is, humana humana, Marilyn singing, no, breathing out her birthday wish to JFK in 1962. Moment #21. Mama, I want a greeting card just like that!

How about George and his friends raising money for Bangladesh? Moment #25. (When George put out the call, everyone came. When he passed away, everyone came. Now there's a great life.)

Or Moment # 20, to catch that merry bunch of San Franciscans who played MSG 52 times! How cool would that be?

I am absolutely, positively certain I'd give anything - a kidney, my liver, all my limbs - to catch Moment #1. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to applaud or dance (not to mention the over-frequent trips to the boys' room, what with one kidney and no liver), but goddamn, I would have loved to see Elvis take the stage in Madison Square Garden. ELVIS AT THE GARDEN! Shivers run up and down my spine.

Oh crap. I forgot all about Moment # 17. Led Zeppelin's appearance at the Garden. For that, I'd give up my only remaining kidney and one eye.

An anonymous commenter corrected me. Thanks, man. That is Moment 43, btw. I just remembered. The folks at MSG deserve a kick on their asses. How could they forget John Lennon's final concert appearance on Nov. 28, 1974, when he showed up on stage during an Elton John concert? It is a historical moment and could they get a more awe-inspiring New York figure than John Winston Lennon?

Top 50 at the MSG.